MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

9/21 Quade: “I’m going to be back”

Could Wednesday be Mike Quade’s last home game as the Cubs manager? It could depend on what the new general manager wants to do. Quade said he hasn’t thought about it.

“Why would I? We’re going to play today and I’m going to be back,” he said. “That’s the way I look at things. There’s no other way to look at it. Why would I look at it any other way?”

So the change in GM doesn’t affect him?

“There’s nothing I can do about that,” he said. “That’s the way i look at things. I’m not going to wax nostalgic thinking, ‘Oh, my God, what now?’ I plan to be back and I plan to do a good job next year.”

He has not talked to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts about the future. The Cubs still have six games to play in St. Louis and San Diego, and Quade is focused on that.

“If they make a decision in a different direction, so be it,” Quade said. “The question is what do I think? That’s what I think.”

Asked how he would grade himself as manager, Quade said he was “disappointed in the record.”

“I’m not disappointed in myself at all,” he said. “We didn’t pitch as well as I’d hoped. I think our offense ends up being about what we thought. As I said numerous times, the game boils down to pitching and when we struggle with starters, it’s tough to overcome.”

Quade does have a contract for 2012 but said he doesn’t feel at ease because of that.

“I like doing this and I think I’m good at doing it and that’s the way I look at things,” he said. “Whether I had a one-year deal or a two-year deal or a five-year deal, that’s the way I feel.”

He’s hoping he’ll get a chance to convince the new GM that he deserves to stay.

“There’s so much speculation and nothing I can control,” Quade said. “There’s absolutely no reason for me to concern myself with anything but finishing as best we can and waiting to see what takes place.”

It isn’t just Quade who is on the hot seat. The Cubs coaches also don’t know what’s ahead.

“I look at this as a variety of things and no one escapes blame and you understand that going in,” Quade said, “but I also look at it as a realist and try to think about the things I could or couldn’t control, whether it’s the clubhouse or running the game. I evaluate it all.

“You sit here and take the blame, that’s what you do.”

The Cubs will finish last in the National League in defense.

“One disappointment, if I had one, that would be it,” Quade said about the play on the field. “It wasn’t for lack of work on it or concentration or emphasis, from the beginning of Spring Training.”

Is the job tougher than he expected?

“This year was, just because we had so much to deal with,” Quade said. “The job with you guys, with running the club, no. Big market city, Major League baseball, it’s fine. We had a ton of stuff to deal with and then not having success. Not tougher, but it was a tough year. That’s the way I am. I think all of us will be better for it. I’m happy with the way we’re finishing.”

Related

4 Comments

If Quade comes back, then there is no hope for this team, and it will show that Ricketts is clueless as well. The first thing the new GM should do is fire Quade because he is screwing them. All this time he should be playing the young guys to see what the future holds for them, yet the vets that are not going to be with the team are still playing! What a waste. I really hope Quade gets fired and never gets another major league job again, because he does not deserve it, plain and simple.

I disagree, Ricketts has proven he is NOT clueless. Let us not forget the magical day he FIRED Hendry. Our greed cannot get the best of us. Firing Hendry alone gets Ricketts more respect than anything else he has done so far. I do agree that the new GM should replace Quade but if he doesn’t that will not be Ricketts, it will be on the new GM. I CAN’T imagine that happening!!! What competant GM could justify Quade as manager?? I wouldn’t care if Quade gets another job anywhere else as he would become even more of just an asterik in a horrible season. I say we enjoy the post Hendry era and enjoy the anticipation of Quade’s firing….. I bet Ricketts will have a sit down with the new GM discussing how to handle firing Quade in tasteful way but fire him!

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.